For the Greater Good: A New World Order
by Ex Oblivione
Summary: This is a story that details Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald's short friendship at Godric's Hollow.
1. The Beginning

Gellert Grindelwald, a wild blond youth of seventeen, was lying on the low branches of an oak tree, shielded from view by the green leaves. His merry face was one of handsome trickery, with a slight haughtiness about him. Gellert had an aura of brilliance that even a Muggle could tell.

But he didn't feel so brilliant today; his insides burned like he had drunken a whole quart of firewhiskey. But this feeling was of rage, not of an overdose of a fiery drink.

How dare those dunderheads at Durmstrang expel him when he had hardly done anything wrong. All he did was set one little dark spell on that bratty first year and he was forced to pack his bags and leave for good. At least he managed to carve his sign into the wall before he left. Now all of Durmstrang would forever remember the greatest wizard that ever set foot in it.

After banished from school, he'd searched for months for the items he was seeking and his findings led him right here, to Godric's Hollow.

Now he went back to live with his great aunt Bathilda in Godric's Hollow. He'd been here for days and hadn't even found a single clue to where the things he was looking for might be was beginning to think they didn't exist at all. What a stupid waste of time, all those months of researching was.

He reached for his wand in his pocket and twirled it idly. There was a Muggle village here. He could have some fun and take out his anger on them.

There was a small Muggle boy of about twelve years old standing very close by, unaware of his presence. It would be easy…

He pointed his wand very carefully at the back of his head. Muttering a nasty spell, Gellert sent a jet of light straight at the Muggle boy through the leaves.

However, instead of seeing the shrimp shriek and start displaying the nasty effects of his hex, the spell merely bounced off his head. The Muggle boy didn't even turn around on show any sign at he felt it.

"Eh?" Gellert wondered if he had missed. But then he became aware of another boy around the same age as himself with neat auburn hair and a long nose standing just nearby. His eyes were also fixed upon the Muggle. Gellert had a funny feeling that this stranger could sense that he was hiding in the tree.

As the Muggle walked off, this tall, auburn haired boy didn't move. Gellert jumped down, intending to frighten him, but the boy didn't even flinch. Gellert suddenly noticed he also had a wand gripped in his hand.

"Who are you? Did you block my spell?" Gellert demanded. He was angry and felt ready to start a fight. The boy merely grimanced. He seemed as bitter and upset as Gellert did.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything. Just don't want you to get in trouble for mischief. My name's Albus. Albus Dumbledore. You're Ms. Bagshot's great-nephew, aren't you?" he said. He extended a hand. Gellert hesitated, then shook it.

"Uhh, yeah. I'm Gellert Grindelwald. You're one of those Dumbledores are you? I've heard of your family," said Gellert. He was beginning to feel at ease with this boy. Albus somehow seemed to have the same aura of brilliance that he did. He could make a valuable partner.

"How old are you? I've never seen you around at Hogwarts," Albus commented.

"Seventeen. And I don't go to Hogwarts, I go to Durmstrang, well I used to," Gellert spat bitterly.

"I'm seventeen too. Durmstrang, you say? Bit far from here. I know how you feel about being stuck. I was supposed to go on a world trip with my friend Doge, but now I'm stuck here, head of the family, left to care for two younger siblings. Damn it all, I wish I could get away from it. I left school full of glory and now I'm stuck in God awful Hollow," Albus looked miserable.

Gellert's anger subsided a little. At least he wasn't the only one miserable here. Besides, Albus could help him find what he was seeking here.


	2. What Gellert is looking for

"What do you think about Muggles, Gellert? Why were you trying to attack that Muggle back there?" Albus asked. Somehow, he had been afraid to ask, mainly because Gellert seemed like someone who had no mercy over anyone who got in his way.

They were in the sitting room at Bathilda's house, having just returned from their long walk. The two boys found out that they have a lot in common and had been chatting amiably until it got dark.

Gellert was absorbed in a strange book written in ancient runes that was opened on the table. He looked up, his proud eyebrows raised.

"What do you think?" He grinned mischievously. "Muggles deserve this kind of treatment. Why do you think we were born with magic and they weren't? It's because they don't belong in a high class like us. Muggles are like animals, we need to teach them their proper place. Wouldn't you agree?"

Albus hesitated, then replied, "Yes, I suppose so."

He was silent for a moment and just watched as Gellert studied his rune book with great intensity as he muttered under his breath as though reading aloud to himself. Albus, being the most brilliant and smartest student ever to go to Hogwarts, was able to read runes.

The book seemed to be three legendary items called the Deathly Hallows. Albus was sure he had read the name somewhere. A symbol resembling a line and a circle enclosed in a triangle was on the page Gellert was reading.

"Gellert, are you here because you're looking for something? You seem awfully engrossed in that book," said Albus.

Gellert looked up. He looked a little sad.

"I can't keep a secret from you any longer, Albus. Ok, I'm looking for the Deathly Hallows. One of them is supposed to be in Godric's Hollow," Gellert confessed. Albus's ears perked up.

"Funny thing you said that, Gellert. I've been pretty interested in them myself. I've got some old books my father left behind about the Deathly Hallows. I've been studying them," said Albus. Gellert looked hopeful.

"Could you bring them here? I need more information. I know Godric's Hollow is where the third brother is supposed to-," he broke off when a voice came from upstairs.

"Gellert? Is that friend Albus of yours still here? It's getting late!" Bathilda Bagshot's voice rang from the upstairs bedroom.

Gellert opened his mouth to argue back but Albus rose.

"It is getting late. Besides, my brother Aberforth and my sister Ariana will need me," said Albus. Gellert's face fell, and his disappointment was hard to hide.

"Maybe tomorrow," Albus opened the front door and went into the night. Gellert watched him go, then turned anxiously back to his rune book.

In the light of the full moon, Albus turned back to stare at Bathilda's house. It was a warm summer night and the fireflies lit up the air like tiny lanterns. Crickets chirped merrily bu Albus felt a sudden gloom when he turned to go back to his own house. The weight of caring for his sister felt like a heavy iron chain around his neck. He disapparated and then apparated in the living of his own house.

Aberforth, Albus's younger brother, was sitting in an armchair in the living room. He had auburn hair and blue eyes like Albus, but he resembled a human goat. His thick, bushy, auburn eyebrows shadowed a grumpy face.

"Ariana's asleep," he grunted. Albus nodded and crept quietly up the stairs to his own room. His mind was churning with the idea of the Deathly Hallows.


	3. An Idea

A week had flown by since Gellert Grindelwald met Albus Dumbledore. They talked endlessly about their plans to find the Hallows and acted as though they were old friends that had known each other since birth.

One day, Gellert was walking through the path to the village.

"Hey! Wait up! Where are you going?" Albus's voice trailed behind him. Gellert turned around.

"To the village graveyard. The grave of Ignotus Peverell might be there," said Gellert.

"Ignotus Peverell, the brother from the story right? But I doubt his invisibility cloak will be buried with him," Albus smilied. Gellert grimanced doubtfully.

"We gotta try, right? If we have to dig up his grave, we will. Right?" he looked at Albus imploringly. Albus nodded.

"Fine. Let's go," he said. The pair headed toward the village.

* * *

Gellert entered the graveyard, pushing the creaky gate aside as he stepped in. There were rows and rows of headstones, but he was looking for a particularly old one, one that might look extremely weathered because of its great age. Albus was behind him, examining each headstone. Gellert was about to speak when Albus cut across him.

"Look!" Albus pointed to a headstone in front of him. Gellert crouched down to examine the name. The grave had weeds and grass growing up all around it, and it was so old and cracked that it was almost impossible to make out the name. However, Gellert was able to decode the words "_Ignotus Peverell_". He turned away.

"Never mind. There's no way this guy would have hidden his precious cloak here. First of all, he was the smartest of the three brothers so he would have thought of some safe place to put it," said Gellert. They stood in silence for a minute. Then, Gellert snapped his fingers.

"We forgot the last bit of the story! I think Ignotus gave the cloak to his son! I remember it clearly now," Gellert said excitedly. Albus looked up hopefully.

"Yes! Maybe the Peverells' descendants still have the cloak. But if they did, they must have changed their name or moved away because I don't know of anyone called Peverell in Godric's Hollow," said Albus thoughtfully. Gellert's eyes suddenly shone.

"I have an idea," he said simply before rushing away back to his Aunt Bathilda's with Albus running behind him.


	4. The Potters

The duo hurried up the worn dirt path, Gellert leading the way. They were both panting hard, having run a long distance from the Muggle village.

"Tell me, Gellert, what are we running for?" Albus panted. Gellert, however, seemed submersed in his own thoughts.

"Peverell...Peverell...Why didn't I think of it before?" He murmured to himself. They ran at top speed back to Bathilda's house. Gellert and Albus hurried inside the sitting room. Albus collapsed into an armchair but Gellert scanned the bookshelves of the room.

"Ah ha!" He pulled out an enormous ancient from the bookshelf. Albus looked up and titled his head sideways to look at the cover. He could just barely make out the name _Famous Family Trees through the Ages_, _Volume I_. Gellert went over to the kitchen and slammed the heavy volume down on the kitchen table, which creaked and swayed under the weight. He dusted the cover off and flipped feverishly to the index. The pages were old and yellowed with age.

"Peverell...Peverell...page nine hundred and eighty three," Gellert muttered, his blond eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He flipped the old pages again and wildly scanned the page, which consisted of a very complex looking family tree filled with hundreds of names printed in a tiny font. Albus looked on over his shoulder while he worked.

"There!" Albus pointed to a spot on the right hand side. Sure enough, in minuscule letters beside the names Cadmus and Antioch, was the name Ignotus Peverell. Gellert looked on excitedly. A single line linked Ignotus Peverell with the name of his wife, Isabel.

He followed the names of their descendants with his finger. The names stopped once it reached the end of the page. Gellert flipped the page over but it had already continued on to another family tree which had no connection to the Peverells. He turned back to the other page and stared at the last name that the family tree had stopped with.

_Henry Potter. _

The last name of the family tree was someone named _Potter_. Gellert had no idea who that might be.

"Damn, dead end again," Gellert ran his hand through his hair. Albus snapped his fingers. Gellert looked up, feeling hopeful.

"Potter, I know that name sounded familiar! There's a family named Potter that lives down the street!" Albus exclaimed. Gellert, who had been bending over to examine the book, straightened up. He had a look of determination in his face.

"Let's go," he said. Albus looked bewildered.

"Go where?" Albus asked.

"To the Potters of course."

"You think they might still have the cloak? It might have been passed down to them?"

"Definitely."

"I'm not sure they'll just hand it over."

"Of course not. We go over to their house, introduce ourselves and see if it really is there, for starters."

They both looked at each other, then bolted for the door.


	5. Dawn

Albus and Gellert approached the old house and knocked twice on the door with the brass door knocker in the shape of a lion's head. After waiting several minutes with no response, they decided to turn back. Albus looked toward the darkening evening sky. He could hear a bird chirping somewhere and he wondered where the Potters might be.

However, as they turned to walk back down the faded stone steps and past the Potters' mailbox to Bathilda's house, a girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She looked around their age and had black hair with unnatural looking curls and anxious brown eyes. Judging by her witch's hat and thin cloak pulled around her it was obvious she was a witch, one of their own kind. She couldn't have possibly apparated though, as there was no loud, resounding crack.

Albus jumped back startled and Gellert instinctively drew out his wand and muttered a dark spell that Albus couldn't hear. A jet of blue light shot out of his wand toward the girl who leaped out of its path just in time. She drew her wand with a shocked expression and cried "Confringo!" shooting a hex at Gellert with surprising accuracy.

Gellert barely dodged it, though the spell ruffled the edge of his robes, setting them alight. He put the fire out with his wand but his face was as red as a tomato. Snarling with anger, he sent another jet of light toward the girl, who dodged it again.

The two were dueling now but neither of their spells were hitting the other. Albus turned his head back and forth as though he were watching a game of Quidditch.

Finally, the girl hit Gellert with a well aimed _Petrificus Totalus_, which caused Gellert's limbs to instantly snap together as though frozen. He fell to the ground with a soft _thump_ and did not move. Albus moved toward him but the girl raised her wand threateningly again.

"Leave him," she threatened. Albus raised his arms over his head and dropped his own wand on the ground in a gesture of surrender. She hesitantly lowered her wand.

"What are you doing here? Who are you? And why did your friend try to attack me?" She couldn't have been more blunt.

"Well, see we came to uh, introduce ourselves. I'm Albus Dumbledore and he's Gellert Grindelwald," Albus replied carefully. It wouldn't do to give away their plans of finding the Hallows. "My friend is...easily startled. He reacted on instinct is all."

The girl narrowed her eyes and after a moment's pause, she reversed her spell on Gellert. He instantly jumped up and snatched his wand from the ground.

"Easy there," said Albus. Gellert lowered his wand.

"Anyway, I'm Dawn. Dawn Potter," The girl continued, staring at the ground.

"_Dawn Potter_?" Albus asked incredulously.

"Hey, I didn't make up my own name. And I really do hate it. Dawn's an awful name and it goes horrible with Potter," she said.

"I think it's a great name," muttered Gellert. Dawn looked up at him, eyebrows raised.

"Excuse me, Mr. Grumpy I-like-to-put-curses-on-anybody-who-crosses-my-path?" She asked.

"The name's Gellert," He snapped, instantly regretting he had said anything.

"What kind of a name is 'Gellert' anyway? Is it a combination of gelatin and yogurt?" Dawn tilted her head to one side, waiting to see if Gellert would try to start shooting jinxes and hexes again.

Gellert angrily opened his mouth to retort but the girl cut him off.

"Anyways, I have to go." She said, before suddenly transforming into a black raven the same color as her curly black hair and flying off.


	6. The Decision

They both stared openly at the darkening sky. The moon was starting to show in the distance and twinkling stars dotted the landscape like lights on a carnival ride. Albus turned, shocked, to look at Gellert.

"Can you believe that?" He asked. Gellert was still standing there, staring into space with his mouth half open. He abruptly closed it when Albus spoke.

"She-she was an animagus? She just turned into a raven and left? I mean what the—" Gellert swore loudly.

"You think she bought that story? The one about us trying to "introduce" ourselves? It's going to be difficult getting the cloak with her around," Albus commented.

Gellert swatted a mosquito away from his arm and turned to leave.

"C'mon. We can go back to Aunt Bathilda's...try to make a plan, find out what to do next with _her_ around," he grunted. Albus kicked at the ground in frustration.

"Can't. I've-I've got to go...you know, back to my house. Aberforth and Arianna are waiting for me," he said, looking down. Gellert's eyes seemed to flash a color for a split second but when Albus looked at him, he looked the same as ever. Albus walked tiredly back to his house after biding farewell to Gellert.

He turned his back to walk away when Gellert muttered behind him, "Wish you would get rid of those little snots. They can take care of themselves."

Albus was shocked, not just by his comment but just how true it always seemed to him.

"Well...Arianna is sick all the time and I don't know if Aberforth can manage by himself," He stuttered.

"Think about it, them always waiting for you to come over and take care of them. And didn't you say you couldn't travel the world with your friend anymore because of them always dragging you down? It's like constantly have two iron weights chained to your ankles, frankly I don't know how you can stand it twenty four seven," Gellert looked surprisingly dark and a grim expression crossed his face.

Albus thought of his siblings and how he always had to take care of them.

"Yeah...I suppose. But only because our parents are gone now...and I'm the only one left with all that responsibility. And I guess it's out of love, since they're family and I have to take care of them," Albus said, while trying to reassure himself.

"How're we supposed to look for the Hollows if _they're_ always in our way? You're bright, brilliant, and have a powerful potential like me. Together, we're the perfect pair. We're unstoppable. Everyone will regret it, everyone who's ever crossed us. We'll rule over Muggles, we'll silence that annoying Dawn girl, and give wizards the recognition and power we deserve. The world's never seen anything like this, so brilliant and so young. With all the years ahead of us, who knows what we'll become? If you're not going to come along on this opportunity of a lifetime, and rather take care of the brats out of _love_, go right ahead. Throw away the bright future you've been savoring your entire Hogwarts life. So you in or out?" Gellert looked cross. He folded his arms and waited for Albus's hesitant answer.

There was silence for a few moments. It might have been a few minutes, or a hour or two, no one would ever know, before Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore would give the answer that changed his life, his future, the future of his siblings, and the then-unknown future life of a certain boy with a lightning scar.

"I'm in," he said. The clear, strong voice that uttered this short statement would be with him forever from that point on.


	7. Escapes

It was with anxious but determined steps that the two slowly approached the Potters' house. It was the next day, in the early morning fog, that they had decided was best to make their approach.

"Keep your wand out. Make sure no one's in the area," Gellert whispered.

Albus drew his wand and cast _lumos_, in an attempt to see through the thick fog that swirled around them. The fog, combined with the tall leaning trees and old cottage they were headed toward added to a slight air of spookiness. Albus wrapped his black cloak more closely around himself as if it might help camouflage him in the morning mist.

The dew on the Potters' neat front lawn was glistening and fresh as they got closer. The complete silence that met them when they arrived must had meant the Potters were sleeping in and that no one was awake.

"It'd be easier to sneak around if we had that Invisibility Cloak," Albus grumbled. "But if we did have it, I suppose we needn't have come here in the first place."

"We could use a Disillusionment Charm," Gellert said while putting his ear to the front door to make absolutely sure the Potters were all sound asleep.

He tapped himself on the head with his wand and Albus did likewise. Albus had done Disillusionment Charms at school as part of his Defense Against the Dark Arts Class before so he was prepared for the cold feeling of invisible liquid trickling down his body. He looked down to notice he had taken the color and texture of the rose bush behind him. Gellert was also a human chameleon, blending in with the color of the oak front door.

"C'mon. I think if we circle the house we'll find a window or something we can climb into and get inside," Gellert said.

"Where do you suppose the Cloak is? How are we supposed to find it? The Summoning Spell won't work, of course," Albus replied.

Gellert shrugged. "We search by hand," he said. "But once we get it, we split up. You search downstairs, I'll search upstairs."

They walked around the house and found a window, which was locked but_ Alohomora _worked excellently and they were able to sneak in without any trouble. Gellert sneaked quietly up the stairs, which mercifully did not creak or groan like the stairs at Aunt Bathilda's house.

Albus stuffed his wand in his pocket and walked into the living room. There was a cabinet with many drawers, which might contain the Cloak. He opened and searched every drawer as quietly as he could but found nothing of the Invisibility Cloak.

He did this same procedure with every drawer and cabinet he passed in the dining room, kitchen, and bathroom, but still nothing. As he passed the same cabinet in the living room on the way to the stairs to see if Gellert had found anything yet, he noticed he had forgotten to search the top of the cabinet.

The cabinet was rather high so he use the sofa to climb up on top. It was obvious no one had bothered to dust the top of it, so it was full of dust and cobwebs. Albus did his best not to sneeze and wake up the Potters, as he searched carefully.

There was some parchment atop the cabinet, which appeared to be a few letters addressed from someone called "Margie" and to someone called "Helen", all were dated fifteen years ago. On the back of one of the letters was taped a curious small key, so dusty and rusted with age that pieces of it flaked off to the touch. The letter accompanying it read,

_Dear Helen,_

_I haven't written to you in ages but I was cleaning out the old attic upstairs and you know how much junk my grandmother's kept in there. The house's ancient and she'd kill me if she knew I'm getting rid of all the old junk here, it just looks so cluttered and a mess here. All those days of that stuff kept over our heads, it's time to get rid of it. Anyway, I found this old key and don't recall what it was used for. I know you've got quite a collection of antiques and things like that in your attic and you're a fan of old things with an ancient history so I'd like you to have this as a little present. I hope you'll come to visit over in Devon sometime, it's been such a long time since I've seen you last. Give Harold my regards, he's such a charmer. How is your daughter Dawn? She's growing up so fast, and she must be quite an energetic and bouncy toddler from all her antics you tell me. Sorry for such a short letter but I'm packing for my visit to see Priscilla in Plymouth. See if you can find a use for that key. _

_ From, Margie_

Albus detached the rusty key from the back of the letter and put it in his pocket, thinking there might be a use for it later. He crept quietly up the stairs when the sound of a door opening made him freeze in his place. It was Dawn, awakening early out of her room. Albus still had his charm cast on him but any sudden movements or noises would certainly give him away. He wondered where Gellert was and if he was still upstairs as well.

Dawn walked into the bathroom, apparently oblivious to Albus standing in the hall about five feet away, and closed the door. He breathed a sigh of relief and crept up the hallway to see another door ajar. There were stairs behind the door that must have led up into the loft. He could see a green light bobbing about at the top of the stairs, which meant Gellert was in there, snooping around.

Albus went into the doorway, close the door as quietly as possible, lit his wand, and crept up the attic stairs.

"Gellert," he whispered.

"Huh?" Gellert swung his wand around to see Albus. "Oh, come have a look at this." He indicated an intricately carved chest in the corner, dusty and covered with cobwebs.

"Trying to get it open but it's locked and _Alohomora_ won't work," he said. Albus remembered the key he had found and produced it from his pocket.

"Found it downstairs," Albus said as he bent down to insert the key. To their horror, the chest sprang open with such force that the lid banged loudly against the wall that the chest was set against. They both froze in agonizing silence. Down below, the bathroom door opened as did the bedroom do further down the hall.

"What was that?" Dawn was saying.

"We got another ghoul in the attic? I've just got rid of the last one a few weeks ago," A woman's voice said, which must have been Mrs. Potter. "Dawn, dear, can you go up there and check if it's another ghoul?"

Gellert swore silently and pulled Albus into a hiding place behind a few boxes and put out his wand as they both heard the sound of Dawn opening the attic door and heading up the stairs. They both knew their Disillusionment Charms were wearing off and there was no time to cast new ones.

"What do we do?" Gellert mouthed at Albus. Albus shrugged. They were trapped but as long as they kept quiet and didn't make a sound, they might not be discovered.

Meanwhile, the chest that Albus had unlocked contained something shimmering and silver inside...Gellert's heart leaped as he saw it, but also fearful the silver material inside the chest might catch Dawn's eye.

She seemed reluctant to search very carefully, however, and quickly descended the stairs within minutes. They both breathed a sigh of relief. Gellert grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and covered Albus and himself. They both crept downstairs, escaped through the back door, and into the beautiful sunrise.


	8. Discussion

Back in Aunt Bathilda's house, Gellert toyed with the silvery cloak in his hands.

"We've finally got it now," he grinned with delight. Gellert felt a certain pride within himself, a strong sense of accomplishment. Albus, however , looked uneasy.

"I don't know if we should've taken it," he said slowly. Gellert stopped toying with the cloak and slowly raised his head to look at Albus.

"What do you mean?" Gellert asked softly. "I thought you were in." Albus shrugged.

"I don't know. Now that we've gotten the cloak...I'm not so sure. Innocent lives might be lost if we do commence this new world order," he said. Gellert abruptly stood up.

"If Muggles die in the way of our power, it'll all be for the greater good. What are they worth, anyway? Isn't this what it's all about? We'll get rewards beyond our wildest dreams! You can't bail out now! Now that we've got this Cloak, we'll have to disembark immediately and travel the world to track down the Stone and the Wand! We'll be unbeatable!" He declared. His eyes shone with hope, dreams, and maybe even greed.

Albus turned his mind over, trying to decide between his family or his friend.

"I'll do it! But first I've got to pack my things and explain to Aberforth and Arianna the situation here. I don't think he'll be too pleased though," Albus replied finally.

"I'll come with you! Sort things out with those two little snots that you've been forced to look after, won't we," Gellert said. Albus felt a private anger at Gellert, he had no right calling the only family he had left "little snots".

They both headed out the door to Albus's house, into the late afternoon sun.

"What is family and love worth when you compare all the world, all the glory?" Gellert asked softly. He had never know either. Not even the latter. Perhaps, maybe just a little.

* * *

"You're going to WHAT?" screamed Aberforth. Albus was taken aback by his brother's sudden anger.

"Aberforth, do you understand how important the business Gellert and I have? It is essential that I leave," Albus said. Gellert sat on the sofa, his eyes darting back and forth during the argument but not saying a word.

"I don't care! You stupid idiot! Despite all your "brilliance" and despite all your "intelligence" you can't fathom the fact that your helpless brother and sister need you? We don't have any family! You're going to just abandon us? Dad gone, mum gone, and now you've got to go the same way to go on some foolish quest with that mad man over there?" Aberforth gestured furiously to Gellert sitting nonchalantly on the couch, not appearing to intervene.

At Aberforth's words, however, he rose in anger.

"Shut up! Shut up you little boy! I need Albus, he's way more brilliant than you will ever be! And we'll go scour the globe, we don't need a few brats holding us down," he snarled nastily.

"You're both mad! I won't let you go! I won't let you!" Aberforth ran in front of his brother, as though he made to shield him from Gellert.

"Get out of the way," Albus said, pushing Aberforth aside. Gellert lit up.

"Finally, Albus, you're seeing some sense. Not like whiny over here," he said coolly. Aberforth leapt up in anger.

"Ariana's sick! I can't take care of her by myself!" he screamed in frustration that neither of them seemed to be able to understand. "I'm your own flesh and blood, not worth anything at all to you? IF we were dead, would you care at all?"

Albus saw the tears half-formed in his brothers eyes. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. A major headache was forming and it didn't seem to be going away soon. He turned to Gellert and saw no pity in his eyes. Only disgust, anger, and impatience.

"Albus, let's go. It's pointless trying to explain to him. Let's just leave," Gellert grumbled. Aberforth saw the pity leaving Albus's eyes.

"How dare you-" he ran at Gellert, throwing himself on him, punching and attacking him. Gellert threw him off after some effort.

"Don't," Gellert said to Albus when he tried to intervene. He threw Aberforth on the ground and drew out his wand.

"_Crucio_!" he said, a jet of light straight at Aberforth.


End file.
